Earth Day Infographic: Startling Environmental Facts to Ignite Action

Earth Day is about awareness, it is about creating a collective voice that speaks the truth about environmental issues, and it is about directing human energy towards positive and long-term change.

This year on April 22nd the world will once again reflect on the status of our planet, facing the harsh reality of our earth’s condition and looking positively towards the steps we can collectively take to create a brighter future.

Below we look at some alarming statistics that illuminate the necessity for awareness and change.

Deforestation

• Currently, our planet loses over 15 billion trees every year, which translates to roughly 56 acres of forest every minute.
• Over time, the world has suffered an 80% decrease in forest coverage.
• Currently, there are dead zones or areas that can no longer sustain life, covering an area about the size of the United Kingdom.

[Tweet “We lose 56 acres of forest every minute. #EarthDay”]

Pollution:

• Every minute American’s alone dump 16 tons of sewage into the water.
• Enough plastic is thrown away every year to circle the earth a staggering total of four times.
• More than 1 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water.

[Tweet “Enough plastic is thrown away each year to circle the earth 4x #EarthDay”]

Marine Environments:

• We have collectively destroyed 27% of our coral reefs. If we continue at this rate 60% more will be gone in the next 30 years.
• A garbage island has developed in the middle of the ocean. Made up predominantly of plastic this ‘island’ is roughly the size of India, Europe, and Mexico combined.
• As many as 1,000,000 sea creatures die every year due to ingesting plastic, mainly plastic bags that are thrown into the ocean.

[Tweet “1,000,000 sea creatures die every year due to eating plastic. #EarthDay”]

Global Warming:

• This Earth Day, the world’s temperature is currently hotter than it has been in the past 800 years, and every year the temperature continues to rise.
• The country that is the top global warming polluter in the world in the United States. In fact, a recent article published by the BBC shows that if everyone in the world used as many resources as Americans we would need four planets in order to sustain everyone.